Improvement in electric annunciators



2 Sheets--Sheet 1.

L. FINGER. Ellethic' Annunciators.

N0. 145,758. l Patente`dln.27,l874.

"wlmngl AUNITED STATES LOUIS FINGER, OF MELROSE, MASSACHUSETTS.

IMPROVEMENT IN ELECTRIC ANNUNCIATORS.

lSpecification forming part of Letters Patent No. 146,758, dated January i7, 1874; applicatioi. filed February l, 1873.

To all whom it may concern.:

Be it known that I, LOUIS FINGER, of Melrose, in the county of Middlesex and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain Improvements in Electro-Magnetic Annunciators, of which the following is a specification:

Figure l of the accompanying drawing is a top view, Fig. 2 is a side view, and Fig. 3 is a front or end View, of one port-ion of my improved annuncator. Fig. 4 is a front view, and Fig. 5 is a rear or interior view, ot' the other portion of my invention.

The present invention relates to certain new and useful improvements in electro-magnetic annunciators, having for their principal objects the providing of an annunciator economical in cost and construction, and simple and effective in operation, by which the article or person Wanted is specified as well as the room from which the order is issued is announced; and the time and labor heretofore rendered necessary in the use of ordinary annunciators by I the attendant being obliged to go to the apartment to ascertain the want of the occupant, and then to obtain and return with the desired article, and the expense of the number of servants employed on account of the time thus required, are greatly diminished. Also, by the i employment of a single annunciator to indicate `arranged and operated, as will be hereinafter more fully described, so that a ball or other suitable body inserted through an aperture formed in a frame containing one portion of the annunciator and situated in any desired apartment or place, and provided with several I other like apertures, each properly designated to correspond to the Wants required, descends a series of inclined planes or movable levers, and, as it approaches the end of each lever or plane, brings a metallic pin or stem, connected with the bottom of the lever and With one Wire of an electrical battery, in contact with a metallic plate connected with the other portion cf` the annunciator and the opposite Wire of tlie battery, or the wires of the` stem and plate may be arranged -vice versa, and closes `the electrical circuit by which a series of mechaninal devices, to be hereinafter duly explained,

are operated so as-tostrike a bell and partly revolve a cylinderor drum, arranged on its pe riphery, with blanks, names, and numbers, as will be duly explained, to the proper distance required to briiigito view /t/he number ot' the room and the Vname' of the article or person Wanted. The planeI or lever being released after the passage of. the ball or other body, which is iinally deposited in a receptacle prepared to receiveit, and the electrical circuit opened, leaving" the cylinder or drum in the position desired until turned back to its original -position by the operation of alseries ofk mechanical devices, that will be more fully described in due course.-

A niodiiication otvmy invention consists in a series of stationary inclined planes arranged` at opposite angles in a frame provided with apertures opening-tonto the upper ends of each plane, and having a metallic spring attached at one end ot' and eti-metallic stem or pin conf nected with the side of 'the interior of the frame, the stem or pin and spring being suit-` ably connectedivith the opposite Wires of an electrical battery and with the other portion.

of the annunciator, so that a ball or other body descending` from one plane to the other presses the spring against the pin or stem and closes an electrical circuit, by which the cylinder or drum of the annunciator is operated in the same manner as by the former arrangement.

In the drawings, a represents the bottom, and a the face, of the case of one portion of my improved annunciator, which is provided on the front with an aperture, b, and tothe interior of which is attached, by a standard, c, or otherwise, a frame, consisting of two longitudinal plates, d lg-connectedby rods or bars e e', and supporting, in the center near the'top, the ends ofa shaft, f, carryinga ratchet-wheel, g, with which engage the teeth of a ratchetsector, o, formed with a lever-arm, o', connected with a shaft, 11 supported by the sides d d'. Attached to one end of the shaft h is a vertical arm, i, that is pivoted at the bottom to and operated by a horizontal lever, 7.', that extends through the face of the annunciator, and is provided with acap or knob, l. The ratchetwheel g is attached to or formed on the outside of a gear-wheel, m, the teeth of which cir gage with a pinion', a, connected with a shaft,

p, that is supported in the sides l d, near the rear of the frame, and which revolves a cam or escape' wheel, q, formed with two or any desired number of projections, q', that are held or released by a curved arm, r, of a bell-crank lever connected with a rod, s, the ends of which turn in and are supported by the sides d d. The vertical portion 1" of the lever r eX- tends downward, and connects with an armature, t, arranged horizontally opposite the ends of an electromagnet, u u', situated at the bottoni of the frame d d', and supported at the other end by a bar, fr, connect-ed with the bar or rod c. The magnet u a is supplied with wires, 011e of which, 2r, connects with. an electrical battery, and the other with a calleror other portion of the amumciator; or the wire vc may connect with the caller and the wire i0/ with the battery. Attached to the bar or rod c/ is a bent arm, nr, in the lower portion of which is a screw', y, operated by a thumb-screw and biiuling-washer, yf, so as tol press against and be released from the arm i", and properly adjust the arm 1' in relation to the cani or escape wheel q. Connected with the bottom of the armature-lever 1', and bea-ring on the top of the bent arm a', is a spring, e, for the purpose of bringing the armaturearni i' in position after its release from the cam q. Connected with the shaftf, between the gear-wheel 1n and-the frame d, is a rubber, ivory, or other insulated 4wheel or disk, a, in the periphery of which is inserted a piece of metal, lf, that connects, by a wire, with an electro-magnet, d, supported on the interior of the case, and whose armature c is formed by the lower horizontal portion of 'a bent rod or arm, g', that passes through the face a', and operates a hammer, hf, connected with its other end, against a bell. or gong, &e., y1', attached to the outside ot' the case over the aperture b, or situated in any other desired position. The armature c is kept in proper position by a spring, 7.", held at one end by a pin, l', the other end bearing against the bottom ofthe armature c, the top ot' which is prevented from moving beyond its desired point by a pin, m, situated over it, or the armature may be regulated by Yan y other method that may be desired. Bearin on the top of the wheel or disk a. is a metallic spring, c, that connects, by a wire, c, with the callerwire. Uonnected with the side d, on the inside, is a stein, af, that holds one end ot' a bent spring, p, the other end of which bears on the top of Va pin or stein, Q, attached to the side ot' the ratchet-sector o, so as to press the sector down and operate the shaft j, and turn the wheels g, m, and a and cylinder l) in a forward direction, and revolve the cani q in the opposite direction.

The other portion of iny improved annunciator is designated the .caller'the face of its frame being represented in the drawing by the letter A and its sides by B B. The'facc A is formed with apertures C, arranged alternately one above the other, on each side, and

just above the opposite ends of inclined levers or planes D, arranged at opposite angles with each other, and provided on the bottom, near the lower ends, with a metallic plate, E, formed der the bottom ofthe levers or planes D, whichY are provided, just above the horizontal portions of the standards H, with metallic stems or points I, connected with the wire w coinmunicating withtlie other portion of the annunciator, or with the battery. Connected with the standards E is a wire, w, that coniinunicates with the battery, or with the annunciator, according as the wire of the stem I is connected, the stems and standards being made to connect with opposite wires. The bottoms of the upper ends of the levers or planes D rest, when at ease, on blocks R attached to the interior of the sides B B. At the bottom ofthe interior ofthe frame A are two station ary inclined planes, D, joined at the center, and sloping inward toward the front, so as to conduct a ball or other suitable body, O, that operates down thcinclined levers or planes'l), as will be duly explained, through a bottoni aperture, C', into a cup or receptacle, M, arranged on the outside ofthe face A to receive and hold the ball or other body() when not in use. The apertures G are suitably lettered or otherwise designated to indicate the articles or persons desired, and are provided on the outside with projecting cups or receptacles M, in any one of which corresponding to the want required the ball or other body O is deposited. Connected with and revolved by the shaft j",

and extending over the frame d, df, Figs. l and 2, is acylinder or druni, 1, Figs. l and 3, arranged on the periphery iny two parallel rows of spaces, 1) 1), the spaces of one row, I, consisting of a blank and numbers corresponding to the number ofthe room connecting with the annunciator, and the spaces P ofthe opposite parallel row containing a blank and the naines of the articles or persons corresponding Ato the names against the apertures (l.

The operation of my invention is as follows: The annunciator, or that portion of mylinvention represented by Figs. l, 2 and 3, is placed in the servants hall, office, or in any other place convenient to .the attendant, and the caller, or that port-ion of the invention represented by Figs. 4 and 5, is placed in any apartment or place from which an lorder is to iiiaass be given. The wires w ic of the magnet u a connect, respectively,withan electrical battery, and with the caller, whose other wire communicates with the opposite wire of the battery, so that, when an order is given, the ball or other body O is taken from the receptacle C and placed in the desired receptacle G, against which the required want is indicated, and from which it passes through its corresponding aperture and descends the inclined lever or plane D adjacent to the aperture, and, as it passes the fulcrum of the lever, tips by its weight the pivoted end of the lever or plane, so as to bring the metallic pin or stem I and its Wire in in contact with the horizontal pory tion `ot' the standard II and its wire ir, and

close the electrical circuit, thereby causing the armature t to be attracted to the magnet u a', thus operating the armature-lever i', so as to free the cam or escape-wheel q, which makes a half-revolution, or as many partial revolutions as the cam is formed to allow, and permit-s the gear-wheel 'in` to be revolved by the downward action ot' the ratchet sector O, `induced by the pressure of the spring p on the stem or pin q, a distance determined by the number of the teeth or spokes of the pinion m'conneeted with the shaft p that operates the cam or escape wheel g, and. the number of the teeth of Athe gear and ratchet wheels m and g. Thus, it the pinion a has eight teeth and the gearwheel m iftysix, the gearwheel m, and, coni sequeiitly, the cylinder or drinn I, operated by the same shaft, j', will revolve one-tbuiteenth i of its circumference. It a greater or less number than fourteen partial :revolutions are desired, the train must be arranged accordinglythat is, it' thirty partial revolutions are required, the escapewheel or cam q `may be y made with three projections, the pinion with nine teeth, and the gear with ninety teeth.

Thus,fthe number of partial revolutions may be increased or diminished by increasing or diminishing the teeth of the tra-iii and the projections of the cani or escape wheel. The ball or body O, as it passes from one lever or plane to the other, releases the lever or `plane and .disconnects the wires w -w of the plate H and stein I, "and opens the circuit, thus leaving the cylinder at rest until the circuit is again closed by the passage of the ball or body O over the fulcriiin ot' the next lever. Thus, it `will be seen, that the cylinder I is partially revolved each time the ball passes down a lever or plane, so that it' the ball be putmthrough the `lowest aperture C it will descend only one lever, and, consequently, the cylinder I), which is set at blank, will be partially revolved` once, thereby bringing into view, through the aperture b', the number of the room from which the order is given,` and the name ofthe f article or person correspondin g to the naine of the article or person set against the aperture C, through which the ball or body is inserted. If the ball, Ste., is deposited in the aperture C, next above'the bottom one, it will descend two i levers or planes, and, consequently, cause two partial revolutions of the cylinder I and bring' into view the `:number of the room ,and` the name ofthe article, 85e., corresponding to that` set against that aperture, and so on. As many levers or planes may bearranged, apertures y formed, and articles or persons indicated as`` there are partial revolutions provided for the y rected by the lateral in clii'ieof the planes into` the bottom receptacle lil/and the cylinder IH vremains at rest until the order has been attended to, when the attendant, by pushing in the lever k that actuates the arm t', so as to turn the sha-ft h and operate the ratchet-sector y o, which revolves the train iii an opposite drcctioii and sets the cylinder P back `to its original position-that is, so that the parallel blank spaces will be shownithrough the aper- Iirom whatever room or place'the or`` der is given, or whatever the `order maybe, i

ture b.

the bell or gong, &c., i', isimmediately struck by the action of the first lever operated, which brings iii contact the wires w 1o of` the caller, u

one ot' which communicates with theimetallic spring c connected with the battery or the magy net d, and bearing on the insulated disk a, i,

which, when revolved by the shaft f, brings the metallic piece b, connected with the magnet d!! or the battery, in contact with `the spring c',

thus closing the electrical circuit and causing the armature c" to be attracted to the magnet` d, thereby operating the hammer k against the gong, Sie., i.

In the modication of my invention, the iiiclined planes D of the caller are permanently attached to the faceA, one above the other,

at opposite inclinations, and a metallic spring, .l

Q, is attached at one end to the,l side of the frame opposite the lower ends of the inclined planes, so that the ball Odor other body, in A y passing from one plane to thelother, comes in l contact with the spriii g Q, connected with one of the wires w w', and presses it against a mei tallic pin or stem, T, attached to the side of the frame and connectedwith the opposite one of the wires w wf, thus bringing the wire of the spring Q in communication with the` wire of the stem T and closing the` circuit, which is opened by the release of the spring Q by the fall of the ball onto the lower plane, and thereby operating the cylinder I? and bell,

&c., in the manner hereinabove described.

Instead of arranging the caller withapei-` tures or receptacles, as hereinabove described, i it may be arran ged-to allow of the descent and i return of the ball; and the lever or plane, or

each section thereof, may be suppliedwith a` ball or other body, restrained and released by sliding valves or plates, Snc., or `turning ilaps or plates, operated ,from the outsideby levers i arranged to shove in and out of the frame, or

by thumb-screws and stems arranged .to turn` the aps or plates up or down, or by any suitable arrangement of devices that may be preferred for holding and releasing the ball, &c.

The inclined levers or planes D, instead of turning on a pivot, as shown and described, may be hinged or connected With a spring at one end, or arranged in any other desired manner, to allow the stem or pin I to be brought in contact with andreleased from the top of the standard H.

The levers or planes D maybe pivoted, and the standards H may be situated near the upper ends of the levers, so that the standard H land stem I may be brought in contact, and an electrical current produced as soon as the ball touches the upper end Vof the lever.

Having thus fully described my improvements, what I claim as my invention, and desire to have secured to me by Letters Patent, 1s

. l. In an anl'iunciator, the combination of a series of inclined planes or levers, circuitclosers controlled by the passage of` a Weight or ball from one plane or lever to another, and of the mechanism for operating the alarm and indicating cylinder, substantiallyT as described.

2,. The ratchet-sector o, connected by the lever-arm o to a shaft, h, and depressed by a spring, p, in combination with the train g m., the latter operating the indicating-cylinder of an annuneiator, substantially as described.

3. The cam or escape Wheel q, held and released by the lever r 1'", armature t, magnet u u, in combination with train g m of the indicating-cylinder, substantially as and for the purpose specilied.

4. The combination of the ratchetseetor o,

constructed as described, with the arm 3i and lever k, for carrying the indicating-cylinder` arranged to receive a device for operating a I circuit-closer, substantially as specified.

7 Inclined planes D, arranged at the bottom of the caller, and meeting at the center, and sloping inward to direct a ball or other movable body through the aperture C into the receptacle M', substantially as specified.

8. A caller of an electrodnagnetic annunciator, having apertures C C, properly designated by the nameof the article or person desired, andl provided with suitable cups or receptacles M M on the outside, and in the interior with inclined levers or planes D D D, all arranged and operating substantially as described.

' In testimony whereof I have signed iny name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing Witnesses.

LOUIS FINGER. l/Vitnesses CARROLL D. VRIGHT, SAML. M. BARTON. 

